SaliNova

Soil salinization is a critical and accelerating threat to European agriculture, ecosystems, and rural livelihoods, undermining the EU’s ambitions for climate resilience, food security, and healthy soils by 2030. Soil salinization is driven by complex interactions between climate extremes, land use, irrigation practices, and socio-economic pressures, which affect crop yields, biodiversity, water resources, and ecosystem services. Despite its importance, Europe lacks harmonised, high-resolution data, predictive tools, and actionable strategies to support mitigation and adaptation. SaliNova will deliver the first pan-European, harmonised soil salinity assessment, combining hyperspectral Earth Observation, ground based surveys including LUCAS and water monitoring, in addition to harmonised laboratory transfer functions and protocols to produce open-access indicators, risk maps, and datasets linked directly to the EU Soil Observatory (EUSO). A multi-scale modelling suite will quantify historical dynamics, project future risks under climate and land-use scenarios, and identify critical drivers of salinization across diverse pedo-climatic regions. In six demonstration sites across Europe, SaliNova will co-design and test sustainable and nature-based solutions (e.g. drainage optimisation, organic amendments, salt-tolerant crops, adaptive irrigation). Evidence on effectiveness, trade-offs, and socio-economic benefits will feed into policy briefs, guidelines, and a Decision Support toolbox integrating hazard maps, crop suitability, and restoration options for farmers, advisors, and policy makers. Through close cooperation with EUSO, JRC, FAO, UNEP, and UNCCD, and by engaging >400 stakeholders, SaliNova will accelerate uptake of mitigation practices, strengthen soil literacy, and provide robust policy support tools. The project will thus directly contribute to the EU Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe” and the implementation of the EU Soil Health Law.